March 25, 2015—Canada’s Arctic Claims

March 25, 2015—Canada’s Arctic Claims

The Senate Liberal Caucus once again opened our doors to parliamentarians, the public and the media to discuss issues of national importance through our Open Caucus. These meetings are intended to be non-partisan, and we encourage parliamentarians and their staff from all parties to attend.

In what is often called “the scramble for the Arctic,” Canada and other Arctic coastal countries are attempting to stake their claim to various areas of the Arctic seabed in the hopes of gaining access to the abundant natural resources below. Through a process established through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Canada and its Arctic neighbours have set about dividing this geographic area. However, Canada already has long standing agreements with the Inuit of the Arctic. In this scramble to scoop up land and natural resources, the Inuit and their legal claims in the Arctic will play a large role in deciding how this land is allocated.

Parliamentarians, their staff and the public were invited to listen to and question our witnesses as we explored the status of Canada’s Arctic claims, our relationship with our neighbours as well as our relationship with the original inhabitants of this rapidly changing land.